The conflict between Iran and Israel has escalated, with Iran unleashing a wave of attacks against Israel and Gulf nations on Wednesday, including targeting a Saudi oilfield. The proposed record release of oil reserves has helped calm markets and prices, but the situation remains volatile. The war sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran has spread across the region and beyond, causing spiking energy costs, fuel rationing, and even school closures.
Iran’s Assault on the Region
Tehran intensified its assault on targets in the region, with the government announcing it carried out its own ‘most intense and heaviest’ salvo, firing missiles for three hours at cities across Israel. AFP journalists heard air raid sirens and explosions in Jerusalem. Emergency services reported no immediate injuries, although Channel 12 said several people were hurt in Tel Aviv.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they also fired on Bahrain and Iraqi Kurdistan, both of which have a heavy US presence, and also targeted a US air base in Kuwait, Iranian media said. Kuwait said it had downed eight drones, without offering further details. Drones and ballistic missiles were also intercepted elsewhere in the Gulf, including multiple drones heading to the Shaybah oil field in Saudi Arabia, its defence ministry said.
US Response and International Intervention
The United States on Tuesday said it was hitting Iranian ships capable of mining the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial passageway for oil that has been effectively closed by Iranian threats. The US military posted video footage of Iranian boats blasted apart, saying it had destroyed 16 minelayers near the strait through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes. According to the US Department of State, the Strait of Hormuz is a critical waterway for international oil trade.
G7 leaders will meet by video conference later Wednesday to discuss the war’s economic consequences, particularly the ‘energy situation,’ the French presidency said, and the International Energy Agency will decide on a proposal for its largest-ever oil reserve release, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Here are some key points to note about the conflict:
- Iran has intensified its assault on targets in the region, including Israel and Gulf nations.
- The US has destroyed 16 Iranian minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.
- The proposed record release of oil reserves has helped calm markets and prices.
- G7 leaders will meet to discuss the war’s economic consequences.
